


I Believe You

by levisinner



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Slight Violence, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 19:54:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8222930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/levisinner/pseuds/levisinner
Summary: In a world where the first words your soulmate will speak to you are written on your body in their handwriting, you find your true love in an unexpected place.





	1. Chapter One

You signed the Accords because, in your eyes, it was the right thing to do. The Avengers would never be perfect, but hopefully, some kind of chain of command or higher authority would help curb some of the team’s mistakes. You saw some of your teammates’ doubts, so you didn’t hold their decision not to sign against them, not like Tony, but at the end of the day, you had no second thoughts as you signed your name. It was at least a step in the right direction. That had to count for something.

While the Sokovian Accords were an easy call for you, how to feel about the James Barnes situation was not. The UN tragedy was just that — a tragedy — and whoever was behind it had to be held responsible. The Winter Soldier’s involvement wasn’t hard to believe, especially with the video evidence, but.... It bothered you. Even if his guilt was likely, he was still innocent until proven otherwise. He should be apprehended and given a fair trial, and regardless of the outcome of a trial, given mental help. That was how it was supposed to work, wasn’t it? But that wasn’t what was happening. Orders to shoot on sight, Everett Ross literally laughing when Cap mentioned a trial. You hadn’t signed off on that. And even if Steve was biased and blinded by his relationship with Barnes, he was your mentor and you trusted his judgment. If he believed in his former best friend’s innocence, that warranted at least a second glance at the situation.

Regardless of the abundance of red flags, though, you knew the future of the Avengers depended on this mission. If you could follow orders and bring in Barnes, it would not only restore some of the public’s faith in the team, it would give your new UN handlers a reason to trust all of you. And so, even with the pit in your stomach the whole saga gave you, when Tony told you that you had 36 hours to bring in Barnes, Cap, and Sam, you jumped into action. While Tony flew off on his recruiting mission, you set to work on organizing the team, summoning the non-present members and forming a game plan for the inevitable show down.

And that was how you found yourself on the tarmac of an empty German airport, staring across at your best friends, asking them to turn themselves in. You knew they’d say no, of course. Steve Rogers was not one to surrender his convictions, and his team’s faith in his decision meant the same for them. You really, really didn’t want to fight them. Not Steve, not Sam, not Wanda or Clint or even this new guy, Scott. They were doing what they thought was right; how could you fault them? Still, though, you fought. It wasn’t exactly like you had a choice.

It was early on in the brawl that you found yourself face to face with the man of the hour, James Buchanan Barnes. He was good. You weren’t expecting anything else from the Howling Commando turned Soviet super soldier, of course, but he was good. Your battle was almost entirely one sided. You busied yourself with dodges and blocks, sneaking in a punch here or there, while his attacks greatly outmatched yours. Despite the aggressive frequency with which he was throwing punches, however, you could tell he was holding back. Like he didn’t want to hurt you. And that made the feeling in your gut about this whole thing ever worse.

He had you backed against the outside wall of the parking garage, throwing punch after punch as you desperately evaded. Your focus was on his hands as you dodged his hits, and he noticed your error before you did. With one swift kick from the former assassin, your legs were knocked out from under you and for a split second, you were falling. However, your trip to the ground was halted immediately after it began as Barnes grabbed your wrists and pinned them back to the wall. You stood there, frozen, faces less than a foot apart, before Barnes spoke.

“I didn’t kill those people.”

His eyes, a piercing shade of pale blue that seemed to undress your very soul with their stare, carried a tired sense of sadness that permeated his entire face. It reflected in his voice. You didn’t hear a brutal killer trying to escape responsibility for his crimes; you heard a sad, lonely man who was just tired of everything. As you replied to the soldier, you realized that you honestly did believe in the words that spilled out of your lips.

“I believe you.”

Barnes continued to hold your wrists above your head against the cool cement of the parking garage wall, but his grip loosened to the point you could easily slip out if you so chose. You didn’t, though, as the realization hit you both simultaneously. Your eyes grew wide, mouth left hanging slightly agape as you drew in a sharp breath of air. I didn’t kill those people. The words you were all too familiar with sounded strange coming from someone else’s mouth, strange enough that you didn’t immediately recognize them, but it was unquestionable what they meant.

“You’re…you’re it, huh?” His voice was quieter than you what you ever imagined could come out of the hulking super soldier.

“Yeah,” you replied after a pause. “I’m it.”

You stared at each other with matching expressions of awe struck wonder for what seemed like an eternity before he laughed. For a man who looked so sad mere moments prior, the genuine nature of the hearty laugh he let out surprised you. “In a hundred years, I never imagined this is how I’d meet you,” he said, and the pure joy in his voice made your heart soar.

“Me neither,” you agreed, unable to keep the smile off your face. He let go of your wrists, and his fingertips ghosted down your arms and down your body before finally settling on top of your hips where his grip once again tightened. You dropped your arms from above your head and tossed them around his neck before pulling him into a tight hug.

Bucky pulled out of the hug after a moment, but kept your body inches from his, fingertips digging into your hips like he was afraid you’d disappear into thin air if he let go. “I…I don’t know your name,” he hesitantly confessed with a nervous laugh.

“[Y/N]. I’m kind of offended Steve didn’t mention me, to be honest,” you teased.

Bucky was about to respond when your earpiece crackled to life. “[Y/N], I see you and Barnes, and I’m going to choose to believe it’s not what it looks like, because it looks like you’re making out…I’m coming in as backup, give me a second.”

Without pulling away from Bucky’s hold, you raised a hand to your communicator. “Tony, go fuck yourself. I’m not helping you take down an innocent man.” You heard Tony start to protest, but you’d already ripped the communicator out, dropping it to the ground and smashing it beneath your heel for good measure. You looked back up at Bucky with a smirk. “Looks like I’m on your side now, soldier.”


	2. Chapter Two

“I didn’t think I had a soulmate anymore,” he confessed. He sat cross legged, hunched over with his arm resting on his legs as he absentmindedly twirled strands of grass between his fingertips. In your time in T’Challa’s palace, the courtyard’s expansive gardens had quickly become you and Bucky’s favorite place. You had stumbled onto a pond today, and so the two of you found yourself sat in the grass at the edge of it amongst the beautiful flowers, watching gorgeous and exotic fish dart around through the clear waters. 

“I mean, back in the thirties and forties, I thought I did. I had no reason to believe I’d be any different than anyone else, or that you’d be, for that matter. When I got drafted into the army and got deployed, looking forward to meeting you was the only thing that kept me going. It was…it was honestly hell, [Y/N]. Even with what we do now, there’s just something about war…but you kept me going. And even when I first got captured by Hydra, I knew I’d make it out because I hadn’t met you yet. But after…after I became the Winter Soldier, whenever I had enough presence of mind to think about shit like soulmates…I just thought I’d missed the boat, you know? That whoever my other half was, they were meant for Sergeant James Barnes, that old me stuck back in Brooklyn. Not James Barnes, the Winter Soldier, Soviet assassin and Hydra tool. I thought my chance at having a soulmate died when I supposedly did. And when the dust settled after I got out, I just accepted that I didn’t have anyone. But then you came along, and I was just…just hoping so badly your words meant what I thought they did, because you were the most perfect woman I’d ever seen, and then I saw your face and your reaction and…yeah.” He looked down at you as you lay stretched out on your stomach, head propped up in your hands, next to him. There was a dorky grin on his face that you couldn’t help but laugh at as you returned it.

“I honestly just never thought about soulmates,” you told him. “Always thought my words were weird, but never paid ’em much mind. I was fifteen when SHIELD recruited me, and from then on, it was my entire life. Training, briefings, missions, debriefing, more training. I didn’t care about anything else, especially not soulmates. Not until I was kicking your ass, anyway.”

It was his turn to laugh at you. “[Y/N], we both know who was winning that fight.”

You wrinkled up your face at him, although you knew he was right, before continuing. “One time Steve saw my words while we were training. He looked like he saw a ghost, but he just clammed up and wouldn’t talk about it. In retrospect, I don’t know why I didn’t push him harder about that…”

“Did Stevie really recognize my handwriting after seventy years? My god, he’s like the ultra clingy girlfriend I never wanted.”

“Don’t lie, Barnes,” you shot back with a laugh. “You love when I’m your ultra clingy girlfriend.”

“Yeah, but that’s you. I don’t want Steve to be my ultra clingy girlfriend.”

“You sure about that? Because sometimes I’m not.”

“Shut up, [Y/LN].”

“Make me.” This elicited exactly the response you were hoping for as he leaned down to press his lips to yours. His calloused fingertips caught under your chin, tilting your face to his, and his beard tickled in an oddly comforting way. 

You’d heard the rare story, of soulmates who found each other but couldn’t get along well or didn’t fall in love, and you thanked your lucky stars the universe had gave you a man who was perfect for you in every sense of the word. The banter came so naturally; conversation flowed freely; and the fact that everything turned into flirting was just a bonus. Along with the fact that he was hot as hell. You loved Bucky Barnes more than you ever thought possible to love someone.

You avoided thinking of the inevitable, or at least you tried to. Three days was all you had left before Bucky would be returned to cryostasis. You saw the logic behind his decision, and you supported him in his choice. He was terrified of the Winter Soldier, and you knew he wouldn’t be able to truly be happy until that part of him was gone, but…in the short time you’d been able to call him yours, you couldn’t imagine going on without him. 

You hadn’t told him of your plans for when he was under, however. He wouldn’t be happy about them, but what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. T’Challa, who was too helpful for his own good, had lent you his personal jet and pilots. The day after Bucky went into cryo, you were flying back to New York, back to the Avengers’ compound. You weren’t sure what the consequences of your actions would be, but you had to face them, because you had to talk to Tony. If anyone, anyone at all, could help Bucky, it was Tony Stark. And you’d do whatever it took to make that happen.


	3. Chapter Three

The entire flight to Wakanda, you felt like you were going to puke. You had never been so nervous in your life, and you weren’t even sure what you were nervous about. 

Bucky was okay. He had been out of cryo for a little over a month now, and Tony, with the help of Steve’s insight into Bucky’s memories and Wanda’s literal insight into Bucky’s mind, had succeeded in resetting his brain back to factory conditions. Hydra’s programming was a thing of the past. You hadn’t been there, as Natasha as recruited you in a mission to help her track down a former SHIELD operative who was selling his talents to hack into encrypted files that had been dumped onto the web with the organization’s downfall. Steve texted you daily with Bucky’s progress, but you hadn’t had any direct contact with your soulmate since he had been awake. Now, though, your mission was completed; the bad guy had been caught and the damage control done; and you were on your way back to your love’s arms. And you had never been so nervous in your life.

After the plane landed in the Wakandan capital, it was a short helicopter ride back to the palace. T’Challa’s own personal bodyguard, an impressively muscled bald woman, escorted you, and her complete stoicism did little to easy your anxiety. You would’ve killed for a friendly face, but at the same time, you doubted seeing anyone other than your Bucky would help much.

When you reached the palace, time seemed to crawl by as the bodyguard led you through the sprawling mansion to the labs. Steve told you they were hooking up Bucky’s new arm today; an arm that, with Tony’s brain and T’Challa’s resources, would be even more advanced than the last one. You were excited for it, but…god, you could not focus on any emotion but nervousness. 

Finally, you strode through the doors that your escort dropped you off in front of. The lab was huge, of course it was huge, but your eyes immediately latched on to him. Sitting up in a hospital bed, IVs and monitors hooked up, as none other than Tony Stark worked on his shining vibranium arm. He was watching Tony work and didn’t see you. You forced yourself to walk at a normal pace across the room as you struggled to even keep your breathing even. Your heart threatened to jump out of your throat at any moment, and the adrenaline pumping through your veins made you feel like you were about to explode, but you forced yourself to maintain a cool exterior. 

You were at the side of Bucky’s bed now, and incredibly, he hadn’t noticed you. His head was turned to the other side as he and Tony discussed the capabilities of his arm…and how you’d feel about it? “I’ve seen her internet history, she’ll probably just think it’s hot. She’s kinky, you got lucky there.” 

“I do think it’s hot, but why and how the fuck were you looking through my internet history?”

Bucky’s head snapped towards you so fast you worried he might get whiplash. “I was curious if Cap was as innocent as he seems, I happened to stumble on yours while I was seeing what gets accessed on my wifi,” Tony replied without missing a beat, but that topic was already the furthest thing from your mind.

“Hey, Buck,” you said quietly.

“Hey, [Y/N],” he replied. With that, all restraint was gone, and you were leaning down, crashing your lips against his with the raw ferocity of a wave crashing against the rocks, your hands cupping his face, rough stubble rubbing against your palms.

“Hey,” you repeated as you pulled back. Your forehead rested against his as you fought to recover your breath, fingers tracing light circles on his cheeks. 

“I didn’t know you were coming,” he said. His breath tickled your lips as he spoke.

“Really? Thought Stevie would’ve told you. As far as surprises go, though, this wasn’t too bad?”

He kissed you again, but this time it was gentle and slow, like he was doing something for the last time and wanted to savor every second of it. “Definitely not,” he murmured against your mouth. “Definitely not.”


End file.
